Madurai Panthers captain Rohit Damordaran to lead Puducherry

Puducherry, the new domestic team, has signed Xavier Thalaivan Sargunam after the likes of Abhishek Nayar, Pankaj Singh and Paras Dogra. Puducherry released a list of 18 players for the Vijay Hazare Trophy, their first domestic competition. The side will be led by Rohit Damodaran, who captained Siechem Madurai Panthers in their campaign to win the Tamil Nadu Premier League this year.

Sargunam, 33, has played one first-class game and represented Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League in one game in 2013. Singh, one of Rajasthan’s most prominent cricketers in domestic cricket and who has played two Tests and a ODI for India, also joined Puducherry and his contract is for a year. Former India ODI player Nayar and domestic veteran from Himachal Pradesh Paras Dogra has also joined Puducherry as professionals.

The team reportedly approached Nayar, 34, to join them as a player-cum-coach but he refused to undertake coaching responsibilities since he has other engagements but committed himself as a player.

Puducherry cricket association calls for players

The Cricket Association of Puducherry (CAP) has also invited players who are either born or employed or studying in Pondicherry, Karaikal, Yanam and Mahe districts to register on www.cap-cricket.com on or before September 10, a report in Sportstar said.

Puducherry made its mark on India’s cricket map after the Committee of Administrators (CoA) was chosen as an associate member of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The CAP welcomed the decision saying that it will help the game gaining popularity in Puducherry, a Union Territory.

Besides being a participant, Puducherry can also hereafter host domestic and international matches and its top source said that an international cricket stadium will also come up there soon.

Puducherry squad:

D Rohit (captain), Fabid Farooque Ahmed (vice captain), Abhishek Mohan Nayar, Pankaj Singh, Paras Dogra, Xavier Thalaivan Sargunam, Sagar Paresh Udheshi, Nikhilesh Surendran, Iqlas Naha, Shashank Singh, Sagar Vijay Trivedi, Ashith Rajiv Sanganakal, V S Prabhakaran Gopalakrishnan, Abdul Safar, Parikshit Sanjay Valsangkar,Vikneshwaran Marimuthu, AS Govindaraajan and Madhavan Manohar.

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